5 comments about 2007 Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market.

1. This is a great book of sources for freelance projects. It has interesting articles and tons of people to contact. You do need to read through carefully to pick publishers who are more likely to need your services.



2. essential to the start-up freelancer or the old pro who wants new contacts for work. I wish they had this when I was starting out...



3. Don't waste your money. As an art-rep I think this book is depressing and does not give a complete view of the choices that artists have. I found many mistypes and I believe that their sources are not a good spread of the market. My advice is to get it from the library and explore your options on the web. Just like anything start at the bottom, be nice, willing to learn, and stick to it. It is possible to make it.
   -KTB



4. Full of information and where to submit things. It is really helpful. I'm so glad there is a book out there like this.



5. This book is so inspiring. I have not yet sent any art off to the world, but I feel confident now..before I had no idea how to go about it.

5 comments about Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection.

1. This book is the catalog for the first traveling exhibition of the Sherwood Collection. The volume features painters from several countries, although most artists represented are from the United Kingdom, in part because, to quote Sherwood, "there are simply more good illustrators in the United Kingdom than anywhere else in the world."
   
   The arrangement of the book is simple. There is a brief essay for each painter, a full page illustration, and an occasional smaller illustration. Some of the full page illustrations are close ups, which is not an advantage to the picture as this device typically shows all minor faults. The essays are mostly trite, providing information about when or how Sherwood found the artist, a few snippets of biography, and almost no technical information about the making of the painting. The arrangement of the book is alphabetical order by artist's last name. The appendix consists of 23 pages of small reproductions, grouped from five to seven on a page, with brief comments.
   
   The reproductions speak well for themselves. Where a thumbnail size reproduction is presented on the verso with an enlargement of part or all of the picture on the recto, one can glean a lot of information about the colors, style, technique, and materials used by the painter. This is delightful if one is technically interested in the details of the pictures, but not the best for overall effect of the painting. Because some of the images are enlargements there is some degredation of visual impact, but that is nicely offset by the magnifying glass view of detail. Most pictures are presented on a full page, some are, sadly, cropped.
   
   The collection shows a luscious variety of styles, from scientific accuracy of Brigid Edwards, to the calligraphic style of Jinyhon Feng, to the stylized work of Arundhati Vartak and the hard edged superrealism of Paul Jones. The full page illustration by Tai-Li Zhang shows how a master handles color, complexity of subject, and realism resulting in a beautiful and accurate design.
   
   Helen Haywood's overly complex rendering of a wild cabbage almost gets in the way of the clarity she strives for in the deft way she manipulates the plant to show all aspects of its anatomy, including, appropriately for scientific botanical illustration, the root system. Contrast that with Mishima's tillandsia, a study in clarity. He shows how to make simple a most complex arrangement so that it does not overwhelm the eye. Paul Jones' camellia is a super realist, decorative study, and one cannot fault it for its cold elegance. A few painters get in their own way as they seem to aim for virtuoso performance. There are five examples by Margaret Mee, that artist who always shows great respect for her subjects.
   
   Sherwood is a biologist collecting contemporary botanical paintings. She states that there is a resurgance in popularity of botanical painting, as suggested by the foundation of the Society of Botanical Artists in the 1980's, and recently the US based American Society of Botanical Artists. Sherwood started collecting art in 1990.
   
   Production standards of the volume are excellent. The pictures are so well reproduced that one can clearly discern the brush strokes, the puddles, the faltering moment here, a color brilliance. It is almost as good as seeing the original painting. This is a must volume for anyone interested in botanical illustration.



2. When I saw this book I was blown away by the range and quality of the work in it. As soon as I was back at my computer, I purchased a copy for my sister who does botanical illustration. She too was very impressed with it. You cannot go wrong buying this book if you enjoy a) art; b) botanical illustration, or; c) all things beautiful.



3. Have recommended this book to other botanical artists and every one who sees it has purchased it. Full of exquisitely rendered specimens in many different styles of botanical painting. Gives some background on each of the artists, but the real feature is the large reproductions of the art work. An excellent reference book for painters and a beautiful book to display. Don't miss this one!



4. This is a book of dazzling beauty. The first time that I read it I had to keep trying to remember to breath! This is not a how-to book but a WOW! book. The range and quality of the illustrations is astounding, particularly in view of the large number of pictures and the comparatively low price



5. The pinnacle of botanical illustration books. I own this book and have slowly gone through it many times. It contains paintings by today's most talented botanical illustrators and is both awe inspiring and humbling.

2 comments about A New World: England's First View of America.

1. John White (c. 1540 - c. 1606), was an English artists who sailed with Richard Grenville in 1585 to the modern day coast of North Carolina. He made a number of watercolors of the landscape and the native peoples they encountered. These are the first and most informative illustrations of Native American society of the Eastern seaboard. They were later engraved by Theodore de Bry; all the surviving original paintings are now in the print room of the British Museum.
   
   A New World: England's First View of America is beautifully illustrated and reproduces in full the British Museum collection of drawings and watercolors. White's duties included making visual records of everything he encountered, including plants, animals, birds, and human inhabitants, especially their dress, weapons, tools, and ceremonies. The collection also includes White's watercolors of Florida and Brazilian Indians.
   
   Each work is reproduced in color and supplemented by engravings by Theodor de Bry and others. In 1590 Theodorus de Bry and his sons had published a new, illustrated edition of Thomas Harriot's A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia (Rosenwald Collection Reprint Series) about the first English settlements in North America (in modern-day North Carolina). His illustrations were based on White's watercolor paintings. One interesting aspect of this fine book is seeing how significantly de Bry changed White's works; the engravings are very detailed, but lack the life of the paintings.
   
   Kim Sloan places John White in his historical, cultural, and artistic contexts. Joyce Chaplin explores how White's contemporaries viewed his work and Christian Feest assesses its accuracy as historical documentation. Ute Kuhlemann examines the role of de Bry.
   
   I found this book a wonderful introduction to America as the English of the time must have seen it.
   
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008



2. Very well done, very informative, good attention to detail.

1 comments about Moma Highlights.

1. i thought this book was very much an enjoyable and fun book to look through. it amazed me how much material was put in it, considering on appearances it looks like a little publication. i thought that the art plates were beautiful and the colors well repeated. i am absulutely thrilled that i bought this book and would not hesitate to buy it for a friend for an occation

5 comments about The Houses of McKim, Mead & White.

1. I must confess I enjoyed this book, it may not be the burning bush, but the text was insightful and I thought the photos where nicely laid out. It is amazing to see the breathe of Mckim, Mead, and Whites work, they really where THE Gilded Age architects. Lord knows there where other great architects of the time, like Horace Trumbaur and Carrere and Hastings to name a few, but no firm had a better P.R. machine than this firm, namely Stanford White, it can be debated whether they where the best of the architects of the time, but nobody can debate their preeminence during the Gilded Age. Nice book, I recomended it.



2. This book has some nice photographs but adds nothing to already published scholarship on this topic. The author is not a professional architectural historian; he is a descendant of Stanford White. His text is gushy and uncritical, and makes only scant mention of the social and economic forces that contributed to the rise and decline of these grandiose houses.



3. The point of this review is to correct an error in Steven Goldstein's review of this book. McKim, Mead, & White were not involved in the construction of the Metropolitan Opera, as he states.

   This is a wonderful, ravishing book, although I suppose some readers might be disappointed that the author has limited himself to surviving examples of McKim, Mead, & White's work, with current photographs ... all of them gorgeous. Vintage photographs, where available, would have been a nice addition. For example, it would be interesting, if possible, to compare the Pulitzer mansion in New York as originally built with the current photos ... it has been divided into something like 9 condominiums!




4. Speaking as a practicing architect and longtime admirer of the works of Stanford White, I found this book was nonetheless a revelation. Gorgeously photographed, it shows a broader spectrum of the residential work of this illustrious firm. McKim Mead and White have a well-deserved reputation for grand public buildings (Penn Station, Madison Square Garden to name two that have sadly been demolished) but are less known for these spectacular houses built for the robber barons of the Gilded Age among whom Stanford White circulated. What is suprising is the facility with which they moved from lavish and elegantly detailed city houses to surprisingly unpretentious inviting summer homes on Long Island and elsewhere. If you love Beaux Arts architecture, skip this book at your peril.



5. This book combines rich visual appeal with a serious analysis of the residential work of McKim, Mead & White. The introduction is particularly valuable for its succinct survey of the firm's development and its discussion of the collaboration of the partners.

2 comments about Petite Pattern Book - Simple & Natural (Bnn Pattern Book Series).

1. This book may not change your life, but it is packed full of about 100 different patterns that should bring you viewing pleasure.The patterns are quintessentially Japanese and occasionally veer towards the too-cute zone, but are generally beautiful and varied, and are all available for personal use on the CD that comes with the book. They would look great framed or as wrapping paper, business cards, home-made cards, stationery, website decoration and many other things.



2. Good pattern book for as a reference. To me this is quite old design and under my expectation.

5 comments about Michelangelo: The Vatican Frescoes.

1. I found this book to be a very beautiful presentation of Michelangelo's fresco's inside the Sistine Chapel. The pictures are very clear and the text is good, although the fact that it is written by non-native English speakers is apparent. Anyone wanting to remember their experience of viewing the Sistine Chapel in Rome will be pleased by buying this book. At least I was.



2. The image quality in this book is excellent. I have never been to Vatican. So it's hard to judge whether the color is right. I just try to use this book to study anatomy after Michelangelo. For some parts of frescoes, this book provides enlarged pictures. Some images show the frescoes before restoration, although not in detail. In general, it's a great reference book for my study.



3. Being an admirer of the magnificent Michelangelo I am very pleased to have acquired this book. The pictures are beautifully printed. By the end of the book I wish to revisit the Sistine Chapel to view those parts printed in the book which I have obviously missed with my naked eyes. The details of the restoration work is an added bonus. To get the most of this book, please read it together with "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King. You will not regret the experience. Michelangelo's frescoes are simply sublime!



4. The photographs in this book are too good to be believed. I have never had an art book on the Sistine Chapel before that so moved me.
   It was obviously produced with great care -- the colors look perfect, the focus is perfect. I can't rave about this book enough. And so complete! You will know every nook and cranny of the Chapel when you finish this book.
   Well worth more than what you pay for it.



5. This is an absolutely superb book, largely because the reproductions of the frescoes are excellent and really capture the colors that you see when you visit the Chapel. I have found many art books disappointing, because they simply fail to capture the works they present. I first saw this book in an American bookstore after visiting the Sistine Chapel, and really thrilled to see if after looking at several other books where colors were much duller and the images simply not as sharp. In addition to its fine colors, the book provides many fine closeups of each individual section. The text is also very good, describing the subjects of the painting, the history behind the paintings, ansd also the recent restorstion. This is a must-have book!

3 comments about Howard Hodgkin: The Complete Paintings: Catalogue Raisonne.

1. This is an excellent overview of Howard Hodgkin's work. The early work is particularly informative with the artist really investigating space and somewhat unique use composition. His use of color is as always - special. The book is very well presented, and easy to read. One of the things that is striking about the work is the intellectual rigor or discipline the artist brings to each piece - they are completed in most cases over an extended period of time, and the contemplative quality of the work comes through. I highly recommended this book as one one that you can return to time and time again and enjoy the pleasure of the gaze.
   Peter Whitting



2. This book is different from most catalogues raisonnees that I've seen, which often provide small, black and white reproductions. In this one, the reproductions are generally quite large, and almost all in color. It's a beautiful book, well worth the cost for anyone interested in Hodgkin.



3. Whenever I purchase a Catalogue Raisonne, I wonder how they are going to present a huge body of work. Some of the work often suffers in attempting to include everything an artist has ever produced. Not really the case here. There are some exceptions here where the work is reproduced in black & white but not a heck of alot.
   
   I am indeed surprised at the size and quality of the reproductions. I have never seen any website reproductions that approach the detail that is evident here. This is as close to complete retrospective as you'll ever get. There is some non-pictorial content as well but great painting does not require a subtext.
   
   This complete paintings catalog contains some great works that I have never seen before. The paintings from the beginning of Hodgkin's career (most of which don't call attention to the framing) are some of my favorites. As he moves to the painting on the frame as well as the "interior" space, some of these don't work for me but some are among his best paintings. I actually like the fact that he paints on the frames. I have always felt that a painting is in fact a three dimensional object, as well as containg the three dimensional illusion aspect. In anybody else's hands this could turn into gimmick but in Hodgkin's it does not.
   
   Make sure you get the 2006 updated version of this book. It's 420 pages and fascinating.

5 comments about The Girl With the Gallery: Edith Gregor Halpert And the Making of the Modern Art Market.

1. Artists should read this book & make note of all the marketing methods Edith Gregor Halpert employed to make it in the art world ... (actually this should be required reading for all gallery owners & curators too...) Come to think of it , anyone involved somehow in art should read this book ... (also , it is interesting how possibly the lead in oil paints caused ear troubles & related brain tumor in those working close to paint- makes one think that is what Van Gogh also suffered from - lead poisoning ...makes one re-evaluate toxicity & proximity as well as ear problems in artists , starting with tinnitus , like a ringing in one's ears ... is madness among artists just lead poisoning ?) ... fascinating stuff...great read ...



2. Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
   It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.
   
   I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
   and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....
   
   Fascinating and excellent read.



3. I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.



4. Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.



5. The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.
   
   There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.
   
   It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

No comments about Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries.